Flying
by r-nica
Summary: -ONE-SHOT- "Think of a happy thought, so you can fly." While Salima's getting ready for her biggest date of her life, Kain finds himself helping her prepare against his inner wishes. How can he stand this especially when it's too late to let her know how HE feels?


**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own anything here, really (I don't even own the ending). Well, except the plot.

**Taking a break from my usual Kai x Hiromi writing, I decided to take a refreshing change and try out instead for one of the other pairings. So sad that there are only a few fans out there but hey, I suppose that's life. If you dislike/hate/abhor Kain (Kane) and Salima being together and/or you just couldn't stand any of these characters, you still have the chance to not read this fic (I doubt you'll enjoy this if you do, trust me) and/or review. Otherwise, proceed. **

**This is from Kain's POV. _Kaze no Fuku Basho_ lyrics care of Makiyo.  
**

**Hope you enjoy!

* * *

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FLYING

* * *

_It's impossible for a single word to mean everything to somebody. _

_Is it?_

_Once in my journeys, I can still recall at the back of my mind, a kid I taught beyblading to told me something about the story of a certain boy who never grew up…

* * *

_

"_Totemo korae kirenai yo sugoku sobani ite hoshii…" _

Several more knocks to catch her attention, and I decide to ignore the loud music blasting off Salima's stereo, pulling the knob of the open door to close it the moment I enter her room.

"_Mugendai no hoshizora kimi ha dokode miteru no?" _

Salima is standing in front of her wall mirror, holding her hair in place at the back of her head with her hands, oblivious to the fact that I'm silently watching her self-given mini concert. A bad sign. In all the years that I've known Salima, she rarely sings to the tune of anything, at least not under normal circumstances. The only times I see her do it are those moments when she's so happy or excited, or when she's very nervous.

What would she be so nervous about at this moment?

I don't want to even think about the alternative for that.

_"Itsumo hutari de ita…" _

At the same time I'm practically yelling something over the combined power of her melodious voice and the high volume of the music. Finding it useless, I reach over and press PAUSE.

"…_kaze no—" _Salima stops, realizing the abrupt cut. When she spins around to find me looking directly at her, few locks of red hair falling behind her shoulders in the process, her hand goes to clutch her chest, eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and horror. Probably because I have witnessed her singing. "Kain! Where do you go off entering other people's rooms like that? You could have at least knocked!"

"I did." My back leans against her bedroom wall, arms crossed over my chest in an almost Hiwatari Kai imitation. "The door was open so I came in. And I can see you're so busy you didn't notice."

A look of embarrassment comes upon Salima's face. "Well then, what did you come here for?"

"Trying to tell you to keep your volume down." I jerk my thumb to her CD player resting on a small tan table. "Jim said he could hear you outside before he left."

"Well, there was no need for you to press STOP."

"I just paused it, Salima."

"That's still the same thing!"

My eyebrows rise. "Tense?"

"No! …Yes. I'm sorry." She tries to put on an apologetic expression in front of me but all I see was some kind of a weak smile. "I guess I'm just… well, I _am_ sort of feeling nervous, that's all…"

Nervous.

My face is saying nothing but I have that uncomfortable feeling rising up my chest again. Salima is usually confident in her own right but right now her feet starting to pace across the floor and the look on her face, even downright _admitting _she's nervous, make it clear that not only is she that but worried as well and unfortunately I know all too well why. Today is the day I've been dreading for, when this time Salima herself will prepare a special date—to admit to this guy she likes her true feelings for him. I had seen her on several dates before this one, and the only guy with her had been no one else—except a certain brunet in Oriental clothing. Noticeably after the tournament where Jim and I weren't able to participate in.

I don't want this date to happen.

Of course, I'm still clinging to the hope that it wasn't _him_. After all, Salima hasn't brought up any guy's name other than mine.

So far.

I undo the PAUSE, the music coming back to life again. My fingers leveled down the volume to a more comfortable range before I eye her with an inquiring stare. "What would you be so nervous about?"

"…The date… What if I'm doing this only to be rejected? It's not like I've done this kind before or anything. It's not like I'm the best person to do this!"

_Why are you even telling me this?_ I want to ask Salima but I discard the thought. Right now I'm the only one with her inside our team's rented apartment, so… "Calm down, relax, and sit down." So being that person to whom she can share her anxiety with at the moment, watching her in nervous breakdown is one of the last things I want to see. For now I can be her outlet.

Salima does as I tell her and sits on the edge of her bed.

"Now listen to me. You know all your positive points, Salima, and I bet he does as well. I think he'll like you for that."

She concentrates on my words.

"How are you feeling now?"

Salima takes one last deep breath before exhaling slowly. "Much better, thanks."

"No problem." I regret instructing her as I watch her get up and try her reflection, her hands experimenting several styles on her hair. My eyes make traces of the attractive contours her long midnight dress shows as it falls on all the right places of her body. She's dead serious about today. I'm starting to feel envious of the guy again. Does he realize how lucky he is?

Then I nearly blink when she suddenly turns around.

"Kain?"

"Yeah?"

Her hand holds up an argentine accessory. "Will you help me with this necklace?"

"Sure." I mentally frown at my own answer as I make my way over to her to place her necklace around her neck. What the hell am I doing! Why am I helping her prepare herself for something I don't want her to prepare herself for?

Whatever the answer is, it fades away the moment I catch some faint fragrance from her newly cleansed body, like green apples or something similar. I've always liked this fresh scent I associate with her.

"Thanks, Kain." Salima raises her hair up so I can fasten the hook better.

Right now, though, I can't bring myself to make any further inner complaints about the entire situation. I can't recall the last time I've been physically this close to Salima, her fair neck barely a few inches away from the back of my fingers which will brush themselves against it once in a while. But I can't let her know how I'm trying to enjoy this proximity while it still lasts. "So this guy you'll meet, do I know him?" Good, Kain. Just be casual.

"Hmm… maybe."

Maybe, huh? I know I'm going to regret this but I can't stop myself. I have to know. "So what's he like?"

"Well… for one thing, he's kind and nice…"

"And?" I prompt, not satisfied with the general description she's giving. It can be any guy, maybe even one of our friends we made before we left Japan a year ago. I pretend to be intently working on my job, waiting for her to continue.

"He also has his own principles, and he has a good heart…"

Finally I'm done clasping the ends of the necklace. Maybe the guy isn't even into beyblading. It can be possible, right?

"He's also a great beyblader, one of the best I've ever seen."

Great beyblader. God, don't let it be him…

But he's part of the reigning champion team…

"Of course, it doesn't hurt that he happens to be good-looking as well."

Through her reflection I see Salima smile a smile I haven't seen before, almost dreamy, and the release of both hands from her head causes her locks to cascade down to her waist. I watch, mesmerized by this shiny stream of fiery hair, and tearing off my stare is even harder when she starts brushing it. I want to touch it.

But I keep myself together and instead go over to her bed and sit down. My gaze returns to her reflection, unflinching. "It won't be so bad if the other guys or I meet him, will it." A statement, not a question.

That gorgeous smile still remains. "I don't think you need to meet him, Kain. I know I'm in good hands as long as I'm with him." Through the mirror she stares at me. "Why do you want to?"

I try to stop it but in an instant this flashback of Rei and Salima shaking each other's hands as we bid our goodbyes with the BBA Team after the collapse of the battle tower passes through my vision. In good hands. My chest tightens, understanding that Salima hasn't meant it just literally. Still, I meet her stare without giving the actual reason away. "Just concerned as your fellow teammate. After everything we've been through this year, we have to be wary of the people we meet along the way. Remember, not all people follow the way we believe."

"I know." Salima sits down beside me, those collected strands of red hair falling along the length of her arms as her palms press the mattress, her head nearly bowed. Must touch her hair. "Sometimes I still feel so foolish for not being able to control myself back then."

She sounds a little strained, like she's recalling the mess she made out of herself after encountering the cyber copies of the BBA Team's holy beasts. I know how bad she had felt afterward, seeing the irony of failing to practice what she, no, _we_, preached, because a part of us is at fault for that. Realizing how I accidentally dampened her romantic mood, half of me silently cheers for a job well done; maybe she'll lose her enthusiasm to go and call off this entire date thing for today. The other half of me, however, feels like kicking my entire self senseless. "It's not the past I meant to bring up. But yeah, we learned from our mistakes, and what matters is that we don't make the same mistakes again in the present and future."

No reaction from her.

That's it, I can't restrain myself. I lean toward her back, my hands starting fingering the stray strands falling below her shoulders.

Salima stiffens for a moment, and I find the strength to stop, gauging her reaction as I mentally write an upcoming apology. But to my relief she loosens up as though she were receiving some amount of comfort from my action.

So I decide to go for it. My hands gently gather her hair, brushing her nape. "Salima, why do you always keep your hair bound?"

Her head twists to address me but at the last minute keep her gaze before her. "Whenever I blade, my hair often gets in the way of my eyes. Tying it removes the distraction."

I say nothing, just playing absentmindedly with red. For a minute or two, we both fall silent, Salima seeming to be contemplating about something, I unable to believe how enjoyable my current activity is. It has been quite a long time…

"Kain?"

"What?"

Suddenly I feel the change in her demeanor. Is she blushing? Tense? What? "What… what do you think about Rei?"

At the last word I feel my stomach drop. My hands stop moving as well. So it really _is_ him. Until now I've been clutching to the hope, even though it barely exists, that it isn't Rei the guy she's referring to. But who else can she be talking about? All the signs and hints pointing to this paralyzing conclusion are too obvious to ignore that I can't pretend to be blind anymore. All those times that Salima had spent with Kinomiya's friend and teammate before, especially lately, make the conclusion even more concrete.

"Kain?"

Now how am I supposed to answer her? I really have nothing against the guy but I'm not open to the idea of Salima falling for him either.

Jealousy.

Finally I carefully choose my words. "I think he's a great guy." A pause. "You two seem close."

"…Yeah… Do you think he's also… clever?"

This is my chance. If I take advantage of this, I can ruin the clean image of Rei in Salima's eyes.

Damn it, that isn't me speaking.

Jealousy.

Rei has never really done anything wrong to us, to me. Only that he's taking Salima away from me.

The first half of me is talking too much again.

I'm not that half. My honor as a beyblader won't allow that.

"Rei's smart." My fingers resume playing with Salima's strands, partly aware how soft they are as they weave along my digits. Yet somehow I feel so defeated just mentioning the Chinese blader's name myself. I'll rather avoid bringing it up for the rest of our conversation. "Based on the way I see him, he has a keen sense of what's going on around him. Especially about people."

"Do you really think so?"

The hope in her voice is unmistakable, and crushing that hope is something my reasonable half can't take. "Yeah."

Salima looks down at the floor but I manage to catch the words she releases as though more to herself than to me. "I hope this works."

Worry.

She's worried, and the more thought I give it, the less certain I am about taking my selfless side who wants nothing more than Salima's happiness. On one hand, I want this date _not_ to happen by any means possible, even if it means sabotaging the atmosphere, Salima's mood, or dampening her enthusiasm. But on the other hand, I don't want to ruin her happiness. If Rei will make her happy, who am I to ruin it? Besides, some friend I am if I do that.

But that's the problem. Salima only sees me as nothing more than a friend.

Why do I have to be caught in between?

"Kain, what do you think you're doing!"

I blink at Salima who seems to be freaking out about something. Then I see her running a hand on her bounded, no, _twisted_ hair, and notice I have just made a braid out of it without realizing it.

Good question, Salima. Unfortunately even I can't offer an explanation.

"What. You never had a problem with this before," I point out. Damn it, if I have to come up with some excuse, which I rarely do, it usually won't be some uncharacteristically lame one. What I just said is true though. Back during the weeks our team spent in countries with strong winds, Salima had been often annoyed about how even having her hair tied isn't enough to keep it away from her face, especially during an intense beybattle. In the end she had found her solution in braiding her hair and then twisting it in a neat coil at the back of her head but she couldn't do it on her own, and neither did our other companions except me. But it looks like I won't be able to do that anymore in this very near future. "For months you used to ask me to do this for you."

"But I'm supposed to look more or less sophisticated today!" Salima stands on her bare feet, fixing me a stare that demands to know if I have lost it or what.

I probably have. I may be at my finest form whenever I stand in the field of a beybattle. In love, I feel like a beginner, an amateur. _Love_ or _like_, why does it have to complicate things?

"Sorry." Actually, Salima looks very _pretty_ in that braid. "But you don't have to worry. He will appreciate your hairstyle."

Dark eyes blink in doubt. "You think?"

At that moment I really don't care whether or not Rei will. I'm more pleased how I inhibit her attractiveness so Rei won't be so carried away to say he likes Salima too.

Selfishness.

No, not this way! "On second thought, why don't you just let your hair down for a change? If you can't decide what you really want, that is." Rei will appreciate her better this way. Curse it, I really can't understand myself.

Salima unwinds the twists, running her brush along those wavy tresses until they regain their original straightness. A few moments of self-examination in different angles, and the resulting smile of satisfaction on her face tells me I made the correct decision.

Because at that moment, Salima doesn't look pretty.

She looks more _beautiful_ that way.

"You're right. Thanks a lot for helping me today, Kain. You're such a good friend."

"Yeah, a friend," I respond distractedly but she doesn't seem to notice as I leave her room. That's the only thing I'll ever be to her now, isn't it? I did the right thing. I know I did the right thing.

Soon I reach the kitchen and make my way over to fetch myself a glass of cold water to douse this burning sensation inside my chest. But not even emptying the glass is enough as I go and sat down before the dining table. I stare at the glass in my hand, remembering every single detail of what I did in Salima's room. I did the right thing. I know I did.

My hold on the glass tightens into a strong grip all of a sudden.

No, it isn't the right thing at all! I'm helping her prepare herself for her confession but it's like I'm preparing her to give her to another guy even though against my will, hating the fact that I'm so helpless against the situation.

My hand is suffocating the glass to its breaking point now.

Fury.

No, I'm not helpless. The control has been in my hands the entire time but I'm such an idiot. How can I have let everything reach up to this point? I grit my teeth, feeling sorry and mad at myself for allowing this to happen. I could have admitted my feelings for Salima a long time ago when I had every chance. But I don't want to find out how it feels like to be rejected because she doesn't seem to feel the same way I do for her. I wish it weren't too late but now that Rei's in the picture, I lost the chances I had prior to our return to Japan.

Rejection now seems to be an easy thing to handle. Watching the girl I want to be with end up in the arms of another guy is pain itself.

Sounds of shattering glass. Uneven broken pieces in my palm. Shards clattering on the table.

Blood. Small rivers of deep red.

Pain. What pain? My hand can't feel anything. My mind's too busy to even notice.

"Kain?" Salima's voice is muffled by her door. A few moments later and she enters the scene, all dressed up and nearly ready to go with her small dark handbag. "I thought I heard something—what happened to you!" She rushes over, examining my bleeding hand.

"Accident." I nearly sound monotonous but she doesn't seem to care as she's busy finding the first aid kit. My other hand carefully removes the shards from my injured one. Then I stand to throw them directly to the trashcan and start proceeding to my room but Salima blocks my way.

"Salima."

"No. Go back and I'll treat your hand."

"Thanks but I can do this on my own."

"I don't think so." By the same aura of determination I sense from her whenever she blades, it's clear that she has no intention of removing herself out of my way. I may as well give in, and I do by doing what she says. We both sit down and she begins her work by cleaning my hand up.

"Just wondering, Kain. What have you done to the glass that you cut yourself badly?"

"It's just a wound. It's not a big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal!" There's a mixture of concern and annoyance swimming in her words. "I can't believe you're even saying this. You could have lost a lot of blood if I hadn't come. How could you let this happen to yourself?"

"I've sustained injuries worse than this, Salima. This is nothing."

"An injury is an injury no matter how small it is, Kain. If you're referring to the beybattle you had at the tower, then you're more stubborn than I thought."

I want to argue back but I bite my tongue, observing how Salima is nursing my hand nearly choked full of cuts. In some way, just maybe, the chance of delaying her confession to Rei is happening right now, and if I play my cards right, I have the chance to stop the date.

But as I think further, guilt takes over me. If I really love Salima, I'll allow her to go. Even though watching her now bandaging my hand will end the remaining little time I can spend with her alone.

"Thanks." It is all I can say.

Salima nods, standing up to go back to her room. But before completely disappearing from my sight, she halts. "Wait. I've decided."

"What?"

"I'm not going."

My stare is that of disbelief. "Come again?" Then I follow the trail of her own stare, leading right to my hand. "I'm going to be fine, Salima. I can look after myself."

"Sure. But I'm staying here."

"What the hell are you talking about? Finish preparing yourself and go. You can't cancel now. It's exactly six in the evening; you're going to be late if you don't leave now." Am I nuts? Now I want her to push through her date. What the hell's wrong with me?

"I just can't help noticing this, Kain. Is it I or do you like and enjoy talking me out of my own decisions? First were those times when we were still traveling all over the world, then the time I was about to meet Rei in secret about the cyber copies for the second night, and now this?"

"All I'm saying is you shouldn't disappoint the guy. You can't have him keep on waiting."

For a while I catch sight of some expression glimmering in her dark hues but I can't read it.

"I'm sure he'll understand," she replies softly.

Now _I_ can't understand.

And how will Rei really understand any of these?

"I'll tell you what. I'll stay for ten more minutes. If I feel it's right for me to go, then I will. Sounds good?"

I'm actually touched that Salima's willing to be late for her date just to accompany me. "Done deal."

Ten minutes.

Ten very _short_ minutes.

Salima's eyes turn observant on my injured hand. "You feeling all right?"

"I'll be fine, Salima."

A slight crease of her brow, and I instantly know how sharp she is at getting how the word _fine_ came out almost forced. "You sure?"

"Very."

Hesitation.

"Go, Salima. I won't do anything stupid again."

"Well…" Those observant dark eyes again. "You look like you'll be all right… I guess I can go to the beach now." She heads for the door.

What! Something inside me snaps. "Wait. I'll go with you."

She turns, surprised. "Kain—"

"I want to meet your guy. Be right back to change."

Salima's eyes widen, her hand holding onto my arm. "You shouldn't get yourself dressed up now, Kain. It's not necessary that you should see him. Meet him if you want but do it after the date, okay?"

Panic.

Is it because she can sense too much worry for her inside me or because she's afraid I'll get myself into a fight with Rei for some reason? Or maybe because I may ruin her romantic night?

"It's dark already and you know that."

"I'm perfectly all right even during the night. Remember, I've gone out in the dark before so this is nothing new. Look, if anything goes wrong, I'll call you, okay?"

"Salima—"

"You don't have to worry, Kain. Besides, Rei's with me."

I catch her eyes in my steady gaze. _Besides, Rei's with me._ I'm losing her already. "All right."

Salima relaxes. "Good. Bye now. I'll see you guys later. Don't wait up."

Don't wait up. She won't be going home early tonight; instead she'll be spending the rest of it somewhere, with someone, knowing she's in good hands… There's no worry in the way she implies that thought, only confidence…

She casts one last smile and, as I watch, paralyzed, begins walking away from the apartment.

Away from me.

Drained of strength already, I don't know how I even manage to get to the table. The clock audibly ticks its seconds away, and with each second I can hear despite the deafening silence Salima's blissful voice already. I blink, mentally shaking it away but I can see the door opening already, Salima reluctantly stepping back into the apartment as she gazes lovingly back at Rei…

_No_! I won't lose her! An overwhelming strength floods every inch of me, and I rush outside. But Salima is nowhere to be found. She must have taken the taxi. So the moment another comes by, I hail it and get inside, not caring that I haven't even changed clothes. At least fortune has granted me the blessing of my garments still fit for wearing in public. "To the beach. And _hurry_."

The driver seems to understand the urgency in my voice and speeds the vehicle's fastest. I silently urge him to make it any faster. Am I just imagining it or is the trip getting so slower as time passes by? All I know is wasting even a second will cost so greatly.

Soon we reach the road next to my destination. I pull an estimated worth of money from my pocket, inwardly wincing at my carelessness when my bandaged hand roughly brushes against the top of my pocket. "Keep the change." I barely hear the taxi drive away while I desperately scan the open area for Salima. Where the hell is she?

Then my eyes catch sight of flowing red, and I see her walking toward some area on the beach. But when I look beyond her path, I find Rei already there, doing something I can't see with his back on me. I know that's him; even from this far distance I'd recognize that infamous clothed bounded hair anywhere. And he is _not_ wearing his usual clothes either…

My feet have a life of their own, rushing down past the stairs to catch up with her until we're nothing but a few feet away from each other. "You can't do this, Salima. I won't allow you!"

Salima spins to face me, eyes widening. "Kain!"

"You're not going anywhere." I know my tone has never sounded this determined and firm before.

"Now what? I'm late already, Kain, and if I'm any later than I am now, the whole thing may be ruined. I have to go now."

"I said you're not going anywhere." My feet won't leave where they're standing. Like I care. I'm not planning on giving this girl before me away, not to Rei, not to anyone else for that matter.

Now Salima's shooting me a bewildered stare. "Just what's wrong with you today? After painstakingly trying to earn money just to reach this point, I don't plan all my hard work to be reduced to nothing just because you don't want me to go. Make up your mind, Kain. Are you supporting me or against me?"

Frustration.

A twinge of guilt makes me gain second thoughts for a while. I have seen before how hard at work Salima had been during the past few weeks, the beyblading classes, the recipe books she had been studying for the last few weeks, and it will certainly crush her if she doesn't even get to witness the fruits of her labor. But at the same time it's so hard to restrain myself. I don't care if I sound selfish or what Salima will think of me anymore. "You're staying here and if I have to tie you to a chair just to make sure of it, I won't hesitate."

Salima falls silent, studying my words and my face of seriousness carefully. Then she laughs silently to herself as though she finds this conversation totally absurd, turning on her heel to walk away. Does she really think I'm just kidding? "You don't understand what I'm doing, do you, Kain. Not even me, or this situation—"

"No, it's _you_ who don't understand, Salima. You don't understand me at all. I can't let you go to that date knowing after that I'll always have to deny how strong my feelings are for you!"

Salima halts, visibly dead frozen on her tracks. I can tell she can feel my eyes charged with emotion deep within me focused at nothing but her.

"Yeah, that's right. I like you ever since the days we traveled together around the world. I had been careful enough to hide how I feel for you because I know you will not reciprocate in the same manner as I. I don't want to feel rejection. If I had lied through my actions before, I'm not hiding the truth now." Releasing everything feels so good for a while but now I have to hold my breath.

Thick silence. Heavy, smothering, tense silence.

"Damn it, Kain…"

Not pleased. She isn't pleased, I expect that. But I don't regret my words. I'll be a new problem for her to solve, I'm aware of that, but she has to know.

"Ruining my plans again…"

Her body's visibly shaking. But I'm going to meet this rejection prepared, no regrets attached. She's right; I do ruin her night before it even begins, the price of my own confession.

"…You always have to beat me at everything, don't you?"

Beat her at everything? Now what will I be beating her at… Wait, no way… "Salima…"

"Now look what you've done." A scowl crosses Salima's face. "Not that I'm really complaining but thanks to you, our evening didn't start the way I planned it."

_Our_ evening? This isn't possible. And I don't realize how the baffling thought reaches my mouth.

"That's right, Kain." The hard scowl melts into a soft smile. "You're the guy I'm going to meet tonight."

_Me_? I must have heard her wrong.

Salima must have read the confusion on my features demanding for an explanation on how that was possible for she continues. "The plan was for me to meet my 'date' and then call you after half an hour or so to tell you to come over because I've been 'stood up'. Then I'll make you stay until I get the perfect moment to confess how I feel about you." Then her gaze turns away from me. "If I do it in some other way, you'll find out before it even starts."

Now I'm really confused. "But what would Rei think?"

Her face mirrors my own. "Rei? What does Rei have to do with this?"

"He—" It doesn't make any sense. "But isn't Rei the one you're supposed to meet? You spend a lot of time with him, you've gone to several dates with the guy, you even asked me earlier what I thought about him and if he's clever or what—you even said he would be here with you…"

The confusion on her features clears. "Oh, that. I asked you about that because it was Rei who came up with this whole date thing. I was hoping he was right about the success of the strategy behind it. Both of us know how sharp you are; we had to pretend we were dating so we could secretly talk about you and plan things out. Rei's such a good friend that I find it comfortable to pour out my problems to him."

"But—doesn't he like you?"

"Kain, Rei likes someone else."

He _what_? Rei without any interest in Salima. All signs and hints pointing at me instead of him. Still hard to believe.

"Besides, he confided to me before that he loves his childhood friend from China. When she came here in Japan to visit him, they looked like a good pair and Rei has been such a great friend to me that I helped them get together. In return, they were willing to help me about my case."

"Then, what's he doing here?"

"He's going to serve us the food and stuff. Something like a maitre d'. Rei told me he has experience on waiting tables before and he's willing to serve us. He's not alone though."

As if on cue, a catlike girl with rosy hair appears on Rei's side and brushes him a kiss on the cheek. Rei smiles down at her, then gestures at the incompletely prepared elegant arrangement on the big cloth on the sand. Then they both resume activity on it, and my gaze catches sight of one of my favorite dishes in the girl's hands.

"That's the girl I was talking about," Salima nods toward the Chinese female. "Her name's Mao, and she's going to help Rei wait on us. Don't worry, they know when to enter and exit to give us privacy."

I really don't know what to say. How can I really possibly have seen this coming anyway? But when my eyes take in again the laid out food, the silent waves, Rei and Mao, _Salima_… "Never knew you had an actress in you. You really planned this from the beginning, didn't you."

"I told you, you don't understand what I'm doing." She casts her gaze down, soft wind toying with her bangs framing her face. "I'm so happy to know you feel the same way for me but now it's over."

I frown. "Salima?"

"The whole point of the date was for me to surprise you while making the first move, to prove to myself that I have the courage and the guts to go through something nerve-wracking like this but what else is there left for me to say? You already said the exact words I was planning to tell you. Besides—you also caught me unprepared." A sigh of defeat, and the next thing I know, she's walking past me.

But I respond to her action by laying a hand on her shoulder. The momentary stillness of her form is all I need to trap her slim waist in my arm, facing her gently to me that I can get the best view of her beautiful face just inches away. "Salima, when will you learn that things do not necessarily go the way we plan them? Do you plan to continue with that date now?"

Dark eyes shimmer before me. "I don't know. Maybe not."

I grin. "And let all your hard work go for nothing? Come on; let the guy you're going to meet double its worth. Will several minutes of going back and changing clothes start it?"

Finally she smiles. "In truth, Kain, I personally think he's too attractive to even need dressing up. But if he insists so much and it fits the occasion, I suppose that's the least requirement for him for getting a romantic time with me this evening."

"Does he get something else tonight?"

Her cheeks becomes tinged with pinkness. "I was planning to give it after the date, actually."

"Why give it later when he can still beat you to it?" I close my eyes and lean forward, brushing my lips lightly against hers. Then I meld them in a slow dance of a soft, gentle kiss. My arm encircling her waist draws her closer to me, the other arm supporting her back.

Once in my journeys, I can still recall at the back of my mind, a kid I taught beyblading to told me something about the story of a certain boy who never grew up.

Salima gives back the same dance in my mouth, and I feel her slender hands along my jaw line and raking my hair. Challenged, I sweeten the pressure of my own kiss, and she moans my name against it, drowning in bliss.

Flying.

Peter Pan said, "Think of a happy thought, so you can fly."

Why think of it when I can feel it?

I am flying.

_:Owari:

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**So there! Oneshot work finished, with a little RxM on the side. The ending isn't even my idea; I want to thank my fellow writer Kaesaku for allowing me to use it because basically I couldn't find a better way to end this fic. I can't help that it's like this as this is my first (and last?) time to write a KxS fic; this fic was made possible by my desire to save the possibility of this pairing (whether or not it's canon) since it's an endangered one already. Still, please review, and I'd really appreciate it. Actually, flames of any degree will be used to burn the scratch papers I used for the story when I couldn't use the computer. **

**Thanks! **


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